Ophthalmic artery flow velocity after physical exercise in healthy men

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of physical exercise on blood flow velocity in the ophthalmic artery of healthy men. Color Doppler imaging, which permits rapid noninvasive imaging of the ophthalmic artery, was performed in 11 healthy male adult volunteers to compare pre- and post-exercise measurements of blood flow velocity. After submaximal physical exercise, systolic blood flow velocity (Vmax) and time-averaged blood flow velocity (Vmean) increased significantly, but returned to pre-exercise levels 5-10 minutes after the completion of physical exercise. There were no significant changes in minimum end-diastolic blood flow velocity (Vmin), resistance index (RI) or pulsatility index (PI). The RI and PI parameters are considered to reflect vascular resistance. Our results indicate that submaximal physical exercise increased the blood flow velocity, but did not alter the resistance index of the ophthalmic artery.